Frida Kahlo: In her own image is heading to Bendigo Art Gallery in an international exclusive with works coming directly from Mexico’s Museo Frida Kahlo located in the revered artist’s hometown of Coyoacán.
A celebrated modern painter, Kahlo is known for her bold revolutionary self-portraits that defied stereotypes of femininity with a surrealist sensibility. Her pieces are both personal and political, especially following the bus accident when she was 18 that left her in pain for most of her life and frequently bedridden.
Frida Kahlo: In her own image will feature objects and artworks that have never before been seen in Australia, inviting visitors to delve deeper into the life of the artist. Clothing, make-up, accessories and even medical items will make their way to Bendigo in 2025, to be showcased alongside Kahlo’s artworks. Many of these personal items have been withheld from public exhibition in the decades after her death in 1954.
Lauren Ellis, Curatorial Manager at Bendigo Art Gallery, says Kahlo’s husband and fellow artist, Diego Rivera, was the one who decided to preserve her home as a gift to the people of Mexico. ‘At that time, many of her most personal items and sensitive documents were sealed up in the bathrooms, with instructions that they remained concealed for ten years. As it happened, it was 50 years before they were uncovered in 2004,’ says Ellis.
Kahlo is known to have been a person of style, with her love of bright colours, bold patterns, traditional Mexican dress and painted medical corsets worn after her spinal surgeries. One of the corsets, painted by Kahlo herself with a broken Tuscan column representing her spine, will be on view in the exhibition. At 20 years of age, Kahlo favoured the traditional Tehuana dress, which is associated with the matriarchal society of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec.
The exhibition will explore the intricate connections between Kahlo’s clothing, style, home, paintings and drawings, and the iconic photographs that immortalised her presence.
Bendigo Art Gallery Director, Jessica Bridgfoot says, ‘Frida Kahlo: In her own image will shed a light on Kahlo’s carefully crafted appearance in the world, and how her vibrant clothing, poetic use of make-up and adornment constructed her captivating public image, and also addressed global political issues, cultural identity and how her physical disabilities both defied and defined her.’
Perla Labarthe Alvarez, Director Frida Kahlo Museum explains, ‘Frida Kahlo: In her own image originates from the extensive investigation of Frida Kahlo’s personal objects, found in trunks, wardrobes, drawers, bathrooms and cellars of the Casa Azul. The exhibition is a unique opportunity to learn about the Kahlo’s life in a classical Mexican house which encompassed not only her personal world but so much of Mexican life and culture. These endearing objects help us understand the story of this complex artist with all her humanity, resilience and creative power.’
Frida Kahlo: In her own image is supported by the State Labor Government through Visit Victoria and the Major Events Fund, and is expected to attract thousands of visitors from across Victoria and interstate to Bendigo.
Premier Jacinta Allan adds, ‘Frida Kahlo is one of the most iconic figures in modern art and bringing her works to Bendigo Art Gallery is yet another win for Bendigo – attracting visitors and art lovers to our great city.’
Read: Why does Frida Kahlo’s fame outshine other women artists?
The Kahlo name has proven to be a major draw for Australian audiences.
In 2023, the Art Gallery of South Australia (AGSA) hosted a major exhibition, Frida & Diego: Love & Revolution, which saw AGSA extend its opening hours to cater to public demand in the final week of the exhibition. Similarly, the immersive experience Frida Kahlo: The Life of an Icon at the 2023 Sydney Festival drew a crowd of over 86,000 attendees, making up around one-fifth of the Festival’s total attendances.
Frida Kahlo: In her own image was conceptualised and curated by Circe Henestrosa, fashion curator and Head of the School of Fashion at LASALLE College of the Arts Singapore, with advising curator Gannit Ankori, PhD, and Henry and Lois Foster, Director and Chief Curator, Rose Art Museum, Brandeis University.
Frida Kahlo: In her own image will run from 15 March to 13 July 2025 at Bendigo Art Gallery.
